Francisco Garcia has been appointed Manager, Platform Solutions- Latin America at MediaMath. Garcia previously worked as Digital Media Director: LAtAm & US Hispanic at Publicitas.

Osvaldo Tirse was recently appointed Sr. Manager, Multimedia International Ad Sales at ESPN in Miami. Tirse's prior position was in Advertising Sales at Rovio Entertainment.

Viacom International Media Networks has appointed Pierluigi Gazzolo as President of its Americas division, giving him responsibility for its operations across Latin America, Canada and the US Hispanic market (Tr3s). In addition to his role as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of VIMN, Gazzolo will move from New York to Miami to take up the Americas role on a dedicated basis reporting to VIMN President and CEO, Bob Bakish.In his new role, Gazzolo will provide leadership for one of VIMN’s most important business divisions, spanning operations in markets across the Americas division including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Canada and US Hispanic (Tr3s). He will oversee the ongoing expansion of VIMN’s portfolio of TV channels, including the Paramount Channel launch in the region. In addition, Gazzolo will retain his role as the Nickelodeon brand lead for all markets outside of the U.S.Prior to this new Americas’ role, Gazzolo served as VIMN’s Chief Operating Officer since January 2011. Previously, Gazzolo was COO of MTV Networks International (MTVNI).Gazzolo holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Florida International University, where he was honored as Alumni of the Year in 2011.

Juan Isaza was appointed as head of strategic planning Latin America at DDB after two years of serving as Director of Social Media Lab of the firm. The executive has led the strategic planning department of DDB in countries like Colombia and Mexico.

Publicis Worldwide (PWW) has announced the appointment of Hugo Rodrigues as chairman of Publicis Brazil and Salles Chemistri. He will report directly to Paul Giovanni, chairman of PWW in Brazil.

Diego Tuya and Darío Rial were appointed Creative Directors at Mercado McCann.

During the seventh edition of the #PortadaMX summit, experts in Influencer Marketing took the stage to discuss best practices surrounding this elusive but undeniably effective tool to reach consumers. Vivian Baron, CEO and Creative Chairwoman at Band of Insiders, presented the panelists: Best Buy Mexico's E-commerce Subdirector José Camargo, Grupo Bimbo's Global Consumer Engagement Lead Giustina Trevisi, Band of Insiders' Influencer Marketing Manager Leonardo Vargas, and Pepsico/Drinkfinity's Director of Business Innovation & Marketing Yamile Elias.

Experts tell Portada the downfall of the storied retailer won’t affect the Sears franchise in Mexico where better merchandising and e-commerce under the management of Grupo Carso, owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, have built the franchise into a big hit with Mexican consumers. The implications for the U.S. Hispanic Market.